KDHE plans meeting on contamination

By TIM UNRUH

Salina Journal

HANOVER -- The Kansas Department of Health & Environment plans a public meeting 7 p.m. May 28 at the Kloppenberg Senior Center in Hanover to provide results of an ongoing investigation into contamination at a former grain storage site.

A grain fumigant used at a federal grain storage site at Hanover from 1950 through the early 1970s has contaminated soil, groundwater and indoor air in Hanover, and the underground plume has moved under the town, KDHE officials said Wednesday in a conference call from Topeka.

State health officials intend to inform the public of progress made and to listen to and understand community concerns, according to a KDHE release.

The fumigant, known as 80-20, consisting of 80 percent carbon tetrachloride and 20 percent carbon disulfide, was used at the grain storage site where there were several metal grain bins.

Carbon tetrachloride is categorized by the federal Environmental Protection Agency as a probable human carcinogen that can cause liver, kidney and nervous system damage, according to KDHE.

How the fumigant got into the soil has not been determined, said Chris Carey, a KDHE environmental scientist.

The maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride allowed in drinking water is 5 parts per billion.

"We're dealing with levels up to 617 parts per billion (in groundwater)," Carey said.

Chloroform was detected in groundwater at concentrations up to 18 parts per billion, well below the maximum limits of 80 ppb, the fact sheet reads.

The two contaminants were not detected in concentrations above "KDHE threshold values" in soil samples, according to spokesman Mike Heideman.

Not for drinking water

The affected wells in the area are not used for drinking water, Carey said. Hanover's water supply comes from Washington County Rural Water District No. 1. The RWD's wells are several miles north of the site.

The contaminants were first detected in 1998 in private wells near the 6Ôªø1âÑ2-acre site.

The site was developed as residential property in the mid-1970s. Contaminants were detected in the soil and in indoor air samples during summer 2007.

"Based on those results (in 2007), the KDHE determined it would be prudent to do a full investigation," Carey said.

Vapor intrusion is a concern in some homes built over the grain storage site, but it can be dealt with using aeration equipment similar to that used for radon mitigation, he said, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture will pay for it.

"It is possible to mitigate. The risk can be corrected," said Beth Finzer, a KDHE environmental scientist.

Forty-five monitoring wells have been installed to determine the extent of the contamination.

Once the extent and magnitude of contamination is determined, "The next step is to look at options available to clean the site up," Carey said. "It will ultimately be USDA's responsibility to do the cleanup under KDHE's oversight."

At this point, the contamination has been identified in several monitoring wells as far away as 600 feet southwest of the former grain storage site, said Jean Underwood, chief of the KDHE site remediation unit.

"It's not posing an imminent health threat," she said. "We have the luxury of time."

n Reporter Tim Unruh can be reached at 822-1419 or by e-mail at tunruh@salina.com.

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